If you read my byline, you’ll notice that I currently have two titles: Ethics Group Leader and Diversity Program Director.
Some people might wonder about the connection between ethics and diversity. Are they simply the two topics I specialize in? Or are they related in some way?
I believe a special bond exists between the two. I cannot talk about one without including the other. These two areas share common ground. Ethics serves as the soil in which the seed of diversity must be planted and from which our understanding of the relationship grows.
What links them? A reading of journalism’s guiding principles, developed by Bob Steele, Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values, offers some clues.
Our first ethical principle of seeking the truth encourages journalists to “give voice to the voiceless.”
Who are the voiceless? Often, they represent individuals and groups unknown to, or ignored by, the mainstream news media. They look different, or think differently, than the population at large. Unlike the powerful, whom we hold accountable, the voiceless must depend upon the news media to find them and include them in the civic conversation central to our democracy.
The second principle, independence, urges us to “seek out and disseminate competing perspectives without being unduly influenced by those who would use their power or position counter to the public interest.” It also notes that good ethical decisions benefit from collaboration.
By identifying competing perspectives, we avoid advancing just one viewpoint. Doing so helps us find fresh frames we can use to address and understand issues.
Keith Woods, Poynter’s Reporting & Writing Group Leader, believes diversity makes it possible for journalists to be more independent because it broadens our base of sources.
“It makes you less dependent on any one segment of the community,” Woods said. “The greater knowledge you have, the more independence you have in doing your journalism.”
Finally, our third guiding principle — minimize harm — advises journalists to be compassionate and “treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect, not merely as a means to your journalistic ends.”
In order to recognize the harm that might occur, journalists need to understand the people they write about. That means becoming aware of the different ways our reporting, writing, editing, producing, and photojournalism affects people. It requires us to learn about diversity in all areas, including race, ethnicity, culture, class, ideology, religion, abilities, sexual orientation, gender, and politics.
The connection between ethics and diversity has a long history at Poynter.
Steele began addressing the intersection between the two in 1993 when he co-authored, with Jay Black and Ralph Barney, the first edition of “Doing Ethics in Journalism: A Handbook with Case Studies.”
The handbook included a chapter on “Diversity,” five case studies, and two checklists. The introduction to that chapter explains why:
It is clear … that diversity issues have a place in any discussion of journalistic ethics. Diversity is clearly a part of accuracy and fairness, whether it relates to avoiding stereotypes or redefining news to better reflect a multicultural society.
Diversity is about makeup of news organizations and about who is making decisions. Diversity is about the way story ideas are developed and who does the reporting. Diversity is about inclusiveness in choosing sources and about giving voice to the voiceless.
Bob added the following comments when I asked him how he saw the relationship: “I’ve approached this diversity-ethics connection in much the same way over the past 14 years in my teaching here at Poynter and in newsrooms. I anchor the discussions in the values of fairness, accuracy, and authenticity. I connect diversity to craft in much the same way we connect other elements of ethics and ethical decision-making to craft.”
Ethics and diversity are more than words joined in my title. Diversity is an integral part of ethics. And any discussion of ethics would be incomplete without it.
